With the rise of online craft marketplaces like Etsy, people with decent artisanal skills like sewing and woodworking have an always-open market to sell their products as a side business idea. If you’ve always wanted to design and make clothes by hand, then you can start turning those fashion ideas into real, hand-sewn garments and earn a little bit with this side business idea while you sleep and customers from around the world browse your Etsy & Amazon stores.
Although it is called Fiverr, you will only be netting just under $4 after Fiverr takes the first 20% and Paypal takes a few more pennies. However, there are many things you may be able to do quickly for $4. A quick design, a quick voice over if you have that deep sexy voice, or creating a quick intro video for a company in a matter of minutes for you techy type may get you some quick and painless cash. Also, if you sell enough, keep a good rating, and Fiverr likes you, there are levels you can advance inside Fiverr for higher cash payouts and more gig offers.
Create a formal business structure. Even if you're just starting a side business that you don't think will ever grow large enough for you to quit your main job, you still need to treat it as a serious business and follow the necessary formalities to keep it separate from your personal income and assets. In the United States and many other countries, you have the option of organizing your side business as a corporation, a limited liability company (LLC), or a sole proprietorship.[11]
Even if you have an income stream that makes up to 90% of the money. When working for yourself, you'll need something different for that other 10%. This not only provides an outlet for creativity but diversifies your income in the event something happens with that primary revenue source. Again, this may not work for everyone but for ME and MY EXPERIENCE, being able to branch out into other ways of making money besides freelance writing made my time as a solopreneur a lot more bearable.
If you’re stuck here, research your competition again and talk to people already doing what you want to do to see how their first six months went. People love to talk about themselves and share their stories, so don’t be afraid to reach out to someone and ask to talk with her only to hear about her story (don’t ask for anything in return, though, just ask to hear her story).
Ghostwriting pays pretty well, and if you're talented at researching and creating great content within a certain subject domain, you can quickly build a roster of high-paying clientele with this business idea. Ghostwriters like Jeff Haden have created very lucrative careers for themselves by writing for business executives and CEO's—and Jeff also started his ghostwriting career as a side business idea outside of his full-time job as a factory manager. Listen to his interview with me on The Side Hustle Project (podcast) right here.
Successful ghostwriters must like to work in the background and have no interest in gaining popularity through writing. They need to be adaptable and flexible, both in their writing style and their work schedule. At the same time, ghostwriters require the self-discipline to remain on task and see a project through by delivering exactly what they promise.
Says Abbey Finch, who used freelance writing to help fund her startup Scribe Space, “I also surprisingly got a lot of luck using Craigslist and Odesk to find new work. I did everything from writing for a local, free newspaper covering town council meetings to writing how-to guides for eBay. I’ve written for lawyers, doctors, home improvement specialists, a wedding band, and so much more.”
When I used to work at CreativeLive, I regularly paid $250-$500 (or even much more depending upon audience size) per episode for 90 seconds worth of advertisements on relevant podcasts like The Tim Ferriss Show, the #1 business podcast right now from the 4-Hour Workweek author, Tim Ferriss. The podcast has even helped Tim launch his latest New York Times bestseller, Tools of Titans to a wider readership.
50 Writing letters to magazines You can make between £10-£200 for a good letter or photograph to a weekly magazine such as Take a Break or Pick Me Up, suggests Birtles. "If you have a really juicy story you can make even more, and you don't even have to write it, she says. Women's magazines particularly are usually desperate for items for their letters' pages, and even quite tame stuff often gets in.

If you don’t want to offer a full line of meals, why not focus on one thing? For instance, there are plenty of shops on Etsy that sell homemade gourmet cookies (e.g. Earl Gray Sandwich cookies, Cupcakes in a Jar, or gourmet caramels). I’ve been thinking about selling homemade gourmet jam (i.e. home canning recipes) during the summer months. I’ve read of other people who have started a gourmet cocktail catering business, where they come to parties and make gourmet cocktails. Fun!

A jam business makes different flavors of jams and jellies, which are packaged into jars for distribution. Businesses may sell their jams to customers directly, or they might sell to retailers. These spreads are put on toast, used in cookies and cakes, and incorporated into many other foods. Jam businesses make different flavors of jams and jellies, which are sold to customers either directly or through retailers.
This is a fun, exciting job to add to your work week! Giving real-time online tours of cities and historical landmarks gives you the opportunity to make money while sharing your knowledge with people looking to explore new locations. You need to be upbeat, well-informed, and passionate about what you are doing. Your job here is to create an amazing online experience and convince someone who is on the fence about visiting a certain location to book their ticket right away.
If you are looking to spread information, improve the human condition and help others, you should consider starting a YouTube business. YouTube businesses provide informative and helpful videos that benefit others in countless ways. Though anyone can start a YouTube channel, the channels that provide useful and insightful content amass plenty of viewers. Such successful channels are legitimate businesses.
For instance, if you need a website, why not contract with the tech guy from your day job? Need an accountant? Someone in the accounting department may need income on the side. However, make sure they understand to keep the work separate from their day job, just like you do, and that they’re working for you on a contractual basis. Your agreement should be professional and incorporate a timeline. You should also receive a work order or receipt just as you would from any other contractor.
The type of business that requires active owner participation at all hours of the day may not be the best if you’re working a full-time job. For example, if you open a service business and customers want to see you during daytime hours, you’ll be limited to only your lunch break. In addition, it’s typically a bad idea to take phone calls during your full-time job or communicate via email. The best type of side business is one where you can dictate your own hours. After all, you don’t want your side business to endanger your full-time job or vice versa.
As a freelance illustrator, you can take your skills in a number of directions. You might work for advertising agencies, stock image houses, magazine or book publishers, record labels, greeting card companies, digital properties, merchandisers, or other businesses. Some illustrators serve such narrow specialty niches as courtroom sketch artists, or niches in fashion, medicine, or technology. Or you might primarily work in fine art to be sold to customers directly or through galleries or agents.
After you have exhausted your skill set, consider what you may have to offer others. Think about what others want to have done in their life that you are willing to do. Consider all the things people pay for professionally, but would love to save money by paying you a bit less. These 5 examples are awesome in that they come from someone thinking outside the box.
Did it work for me? Yep. I'm already earning some extra money on the side. As soon as I got the book I grabbed a blank notebook and carried it with me wherever the Side Hustle book went so I could craft my own side hustle plan (I even took it to the beach a couple times for some educational reading). I've written pages and pages of notes and generated lots of ideas for future projects. Since starting the 27-day plan (it's taken me more than 27 days because... life) I've started earning affiliate income from my existing personal blog that never used to earn anything. Now that the low hanging fruit is started, it's time to grow it and see where it takes me next.
I've long been drawn to the passive income supplied by creating an ebook and publishing an accompanied print-on-demand paperback. By using platforms like KDP and CreateSpace, both by Amazon, you can create an easily create and sell an ebook that costs nothing to produce, and a paperback that earns you money only when it sells, removing much of the prior friction it took to get published.

Let’s say that your friend has a product. They want to sell a million units on their website but there’s one little problem…They have ZERO idea how to market online. Being the digital marketing guru that you are, you offer to help drive traffic to your friend’s product on the condition that he pays you 2% of each sale that you influence. That is affiliate marketing.

A person has a better opportunity at building a stable career off of affiliate marketing, blogging, and side hustling alone with the goal of becoming a future “side hustle millionaire.” Side hustles online are by far the best form of job security because you’re using your kinetic energy to build yourself up to ultimate wealth and not an unthankful employer.

There’s a good chance you’ll underestimate how much time your activities will take and overlook additional tasks. Be organized and document your time, so that at the end of the day you’ll know exactly what you got accomplished and how long it took. If you find that the goals you set yourself are too aggressive, be flexible and adjust them to be more practical. For more tips, see these small business time management tips to increase productivity.

I’ve always been interested in the idea of self-publishing, but I am not entirely sure how to do that. I’ve researched it and created an account on Amazon, but how do I know that I can trust the cite with my bank account. I’m also not sure how to know what price I should sale my book at. The tax information is confusing for me too. I am not a numbers person. Just getting through reading all the terms and conditions of publishing on Amazon took me a while. Any advice?

Coffee beans are actually the pit of coffee cherries. They’re green, hard and un-brewable in their raw state. A coffee roasting business roasts green coffee beans to light (city), medium (full city) and dark (full city+) roast levels so that they can be brewed. Roasters may sell their roasted coffee directly to individuals, or through coffee shops, grocers and other retailers.

Fiverr is a great place for first-time freelancers who might not have tons of experience and want to build up a portfolio of their work. You'll be able to complete simple tasks ranging from logo design, to creating animations, or even drawing a company logo on your forehead. While this side business idea likely won't be growing into a million dollar startup for you, it can still be a platform for funding your next big business idea. Want to learn more about Fiverr's history and how to get the most out of selling on the platform? Listen to my interview with Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman.

Firewood!!! I live in a semi-rural area about 1/2 hour North of Newcastle, Australia (houses on normal blocks, 1/2 acres blocks, “lifestyle” type blocks). A few people here will deliver a trailer load of cut up firewood for various amounts of money locally and into the more residential areas in the city. If you have the room to store firewood to season and a log splitter, its a good side income (for winter). I also know a lady who was struggling to find work after moving here. She started doing before and after school care and earns more doing that, than she did working full time in an office previously.